This invention relates generally to cooking grates, and more particularly, to burner grates for gas cooking appliances.
Utensil supporting grates are typically employed with heat sources for cooking purposes. Meal preparations are placed into various cooking utensils, including but not limited to pots and pans, which, in turn, are conventionally positioned on flat supporting grates above the heat source to cook the meal preparations. In electric and gas-fired appliance cooktops, a plurality of flat burner grates are typically employed to cook multiple food preparations at selectively different heating levels at the same time. When used with flat bottomed cooking vessels, conventional cooking grates are satisfactory. However, flat cooking grates are generally incompatible with other types of cooking utensils, such as vessels with curved bottom surfaces.
Some cooking appliances are provided with adapter accessories for accommodating cooking utensils that are not flat on a conventional flat grate. For example, increasingly popular cooking woks include a smooth curved cooking surface. Cooktop accessories and adapters for woks are typically formed metal parts that attach to a flat burner grate to accommodate the spherical shape of the wok. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,607,613 and 5,315,983. These accessories and adapters, however, must be separately stowed when not in use. Further, when used with thick metal grates commonly employed in high end gas-fired cooktops, the adapter accessories can be cumbersome and difficult to attach or remove from a grate.
Special heating elements have also been provided to accommodate curved cooking utensils and vessels, such as a wok. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,638. However, specially designed burners for curved cooking vessels are not generally compatible with flat-bottomed cooking elements that are also desirable to use.
Additionally, interchangeable flat grates and wok rings have been proposed for cooktops to convert cooking stations for use with flat bottomed cooking vessels and curved bottom vessels, such as a wok, by substituting a wok ring in place of the grate, or vice versa. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,775,316. To achieve full versatility of the cooktop, however, a complete set of wok rings and grates are required that must be stored separately when not in use.
In one aspect, a reversible cooktop grate is provided. The grate comprises a first side comprising a flat surface and a second side extending opposite said first side. The second side comprises a curved surface for accommodating a curved-bottomed cooking vessel.
In another aspect, a reversible cooktop grate is provided that comprises an outer rim and intersecting cross member supports extending from said rim. The cross member supports comprise a flat side and curved side extending opposite said flat side, said curved side comprising a concave shaped area for receiving a curved cooking vessel.
In another aspect, a reversible grate assembly is provided. The assembly comprises a frame and a reversible grate received in said frame. The grate comprises an outer rim and first and second side surfaces extending on opposite sides of said rim, each of said surfaces adapted for cooking thereupon, one of said surfaces curved to accommodate a curved bottom of a cooking vessel.
In still another aspect, a cooktop is provided which comprises at least one heating element and at least one reversible grate positioned above said heating element. The grate comprises opposite sides, each said side configured for cooking operation, and one of said sides comprising a curved nesting surface for a curved cooking vessel.